Vicimus
by ColieMacKenzie
Summary: She thinks it's never been this intense before. This indescribable. So beautiful. Post-ep for 6x22, 'Veritas.'


_Post-episode reaction piece to 6x22, 'Veritas'. _

_vicimus (lat.) = we won_

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**Vicimus**

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She thinks it's never been this intense before. This indescribable. So beautiful.

She's floating, dizzy with it, her head swimming, body weightless. She's crying out, for breath, for more, for everything. Barely notices the tears as they skate down her cheeks until he kisses away the trail, sips at the salty water, his lips so tender, like butterfly wings that brush her skin. She sobs, cradles her palms to his face until his mouth meets hers once more and he tastes like love and tears and forever.

They made it.

Oh god they really made it and it's too much to grasp, incomprehensible. She never realized how heavy the weight was that she'd been carrying, the fear a stark, constant companion, always nagging, reminding her that her happiness was precarious, their future together at stake no matter how hard they'd work for it and now she's here, she's still here, still here, still here.

His fingers are everywhere, skating, brushing, trailing, writing beautiful patterns like love letters to her skin, seeking and finding as if it's the first time all over again, as if he's studying her by mere touch alone and she arches, all of her crying out for him.

"Kate... Kate, Kate, Kate..." Her name a prayer on his lips, raw with a need that's beyond physical, beyond anything she's ever felt, deep and stark, rippling through her like shockwaves as she's buoyant in a sea of sensations. His hands brush back her hair, cradle her face, eyes open and blue like the endless midnight sky, holding hers captive as he sinks onto her.

She folds her arms and legs around him, needs him closer, his solid, familiar weight, his breadth, so safe, surrounding her, grounding her; needs him skin to skin, his warmth and the ripple of his muscles, the rhythm of his breathing, the hectic leap of his heart and then he's within her, filling her so deep that she cries out, clings tightly to him as they become one, primal, magnificent, eternal.

He barely moves, doesn't need to; he kisses her, lips and tongue curling, caressing in time with the metronomic rhythm of his body and she flutters around him, every sensation heightened, so intense it's almost overwhelming. Her fingers dig into his shoulders; she's shaking, shuddering, keening sounds she barely recognizes as her own.

So close, they came so close to losing it all, _again_, everything they'd worked for, sought and hoped and ached to have, every future moment, just how happy they could be almost lost to them and she can't grasp how they're still here but they _made_ it.

"Marry me," she sobs into his mouth, clings to him as her muscles ripple, the blood pounding through her veins and they've done this part but it's time; no more waiting, they're still here and she's done missing moments, she wants to live.

"Now, soon... just..." It's breathless, barely comprehensible as her body rises, skates along the razor-sharp edge of release.

"No more... planning..." He rocks into her, sharper this time, his teeth tugging at her lower lip. She moans, her heart pounding; he reaches for her arm, tugging her hands loose from around his neck, presses them into the pillow on either side of her head, tightly entwining his fingers with hers. His weight grinds her deeper into the mattress, the metal of her ring digging into her finger, reminding her of the endless beauty of their story, never-ending like the perfect circle of platinum, sparkling bright and extraordinary like the facets of the diamonds.

His eyes are open, watching her, soaking in every detail and her insides flutter, muscles tensing as he moves over her, within her, with her. She can barely breathe, feels like she's overflowing, so much inside of her that's rushing to the surface, pushing for release. Her eyelids flutter but she keeps them open, can't stop looking at him as the tight coil inexorably unravels within her. "Please, Rick, marry..."

"Yes, yes I'll marry you, yes," he cries, his voice raw as he shatters through the promise, sinks deep, again and again as they crescendo together. Bright light flares across her vision, forever cracking through the darkness as she clamps around him, holding him, quivering as frissons of aftershock ripple through her, leaving her limp and spent.

"Anytime," he whispers against her lips, still shaky; she can feel the strain in his muscles, the erratic throb of his heart. His eyes rise to hers, the blue watery with a sheen of tears. He swallows hard, his forehead sinking against hers. "God, you're so amazing."

She squeezes his fingers, her legs still folded around him, holding him tightly to her, skin to skin, not a breath of space between them. Her fingers curl through his hair as he nuzzles his face to her neck, breathing against her skin. She revels in his warmth, the musk of his skin, the shaky breaths that tumble from his lips, the love that flows from him so freely, so all-encompassing. She never would've made it without him, not this, maybe not at all.

"I love you so much." It's grabbing hold of her, big and real and exciting, luring with its infinite possibilities - freedom. She's free. Free from the crushing weight, the darkness, the demons of her past, free to embrace life.

"I can't wait... for everything."


End file.
